Industrial food fryers typically are constructed with an elongated tank or trough filled with heated oil. A conveyor or other type of mechanism is used to convey food through the heated oil in the tank and then remove the food from the tank. As the food travels through the tank, it is cooked by the heated oil.
Industrial fryers are very energy intensive. At high volumes of cooking, the amount of heat energy needed to heat and maintain the temperature of the cooking oil is substantial. Also, controlling the temperature of the cooking oil is not always successful. If the cooking temperature of the heated oil is inconsistent, likely some of the food will be overcooked since it is necessary to make sure that all the food is sufficiently cooked.
In the past, industrial fryers have been constructed so as to utilize a smaller volume of oil, thereby to reduce energy consumption. However, this often results in thermal instability of the cooking oil. Thus, there is a need for an industrial fryer that is energy efficient and still capable of providing a consistent temperature cooking oil to the food being cooked.